Sally and I were walking in the woods on a gloriously bright spring day. We wrote these two haiku whilst we walked. I hope they provoke some spring energy in you too.

Tumbling from rooftops

Crows dancing their mating rights

Animate the air

Charmed hedges aflame

Goldfinch flashing their colours

Shiver the catkins

Water's relationships

The image above shows how the major relationships of water are created. Clearly each element is related to all others either through the feeding cycle or the control cycle. In balance water feeds wood and allows fire to come to fruition. Too much water (looking at life too deeply, always waiting for the perfect moment to act, being too cautious, too isolated or too powerful can "put out fire" - taking the joy out of life).

Think about the images above and see what they say to you about the relationships. There is never one way of looking at things!!

General concepts

Here are four simple diagrams showing some basic concepts. They are just one way of looking at each type of cycle and it must always be remembered that the cycle is not five stops along the way but one continuous journey and so the change from one phase to another is not simple to see. When considering the archetypes, remember that we all have aspects of all of them and so it is the action of one archetype with another that is of interest.

Water through the year

I thought it would be interesting to look at the different qualities of the elements through the year. It makes me wonder if this is helpful to look at whether we are in harmony with the element at various times through the day, year and our lives.